IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The timeline below outlines only a handful of the institutions and policies implemented in Canadian history that have led to institutionalized inequality that Indigenous peoples in Canada face.
It is important to highlight that although some of these highlighted points have a listed "end date" that they are far from being over and dealt with and forgotten. They are a part of the horrific history of the treatment of Indigenous peoples, and the effects of such policies are still very much felt by communities today.
This timeline hopes to shed light on these issues and effects still faced by the Indigenous community as they still advocate for access to justice in many areas.
Note: The term "Indian" is used below in reference to many of the class actions and historical references. It is recognized as an outdated, non inclusive and offensive word that has negative connotations for many people. Federal "Indian Day Schools" and "Indian Residential schools" were created under Canada's "Indian Act", which applied to First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. The schools, and their name, reflect the dark reality of Canada's history with Indigenous people. The use of this word below is solely used to reflect the historic use.
Timeline from the 1860's - Present
Indian Residential Schools
1860's - 1990's
For over 150 years, Indigenous children across Canada were forced out of their homes and into Indian Residential Schools. These schools, state sponsored and ran by European Churches, stripped children as young as 3 years old of their culture, language, and community to assimilate them to Canadian Culture. It was stated that these schools aimed to "kill the Indian, save the man".
Over 150,000 children attended these schools, and faced terrible conditions due to underfunding and physical, sexual and psychological abuse. The effects of the abuse and mistreatment have had a lasting impact on not only survivors mental and physical health, but as well have led to generational trauma and negative health impacts for subsequent generations.
The legacy of residential schools, endured by a whole community, have resulted in problems for future generations and generated a high level of collective distress.
The largest class action in Canadian History was implemented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to create a settlement from the Indian Residential Schools. Over an 8 year period, between 2007 and 2015, over 6,500 witnesses gave their stories to engage and educate the public.
While a settlement has been reached for survivors of residential schools, the schools' history has created further institutionalized inequality as well as lasting effects for Indigenous peoples.
Group of students posing in front of the Brandon Indian Residential School, Brandon, Manitoba, 1946
"We should never forget.. its a part of who we are as a nation. And this Nation must never forget what it once did to its most vulnerable people"
- Senator Murray Sinclair
“No one lawsuit can change what happened to my father, or to us as his children. It cannot replace what we have lost. But my hope is that this settlement announced today can help put us on a good path towards healing and towards revitalizing our languages and cultures so that my children and grandchildren will speak Sháshíshálhem and be proud upholders of our culture.”
- Rita Poulsen, Daughter of a Day Scholar and Descnendant Class Representative Plaintiff, shishálh Nation
Indian Day Schools
1860's - 1990's
Over 700 Indian Day Schools were operated across Canada by the Canadian Government and the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian churches. Similar to Residential Schools, the purpose of day schools was to assimilate Indigenous children to Canadian society and culture and erase Indigenous language and culture.
Children who attended Indian Day Schools also faced terrible verbal, physical and sexual abuse - and has greatly contributed to intergenerational trauma and to cultural and linguistic erasure.
Survivors of Indian Day School's were excluded from the Residential School class action, despite Day Schools being funded by Canada as well, and their students facing the same abuse and harms.
In 2009, Gary McLean, a survivor of Indian Day Schools, began a class action lawsuit to achieve justice and compensation for those forced to attend these types of schools. The federal court approved the settlement in 2019, and the claim process is still ongoing.
Forced Sterilization
1920's -Present
Indian mother with baby at Fort McKay
The term "coerced sterilization" refers to the practice of sterilizing Indigenous women in Canada without their proper or informed consent. This practice commenced as early as the 1920's and continues to the present day.
Coerced sterilization is dictated by health policies and practices informed by institutional and systemic racism. This practice is most prevalent in the province of Alberta through Alberta Health Services. This institutionalized racism is apparent in the "eugenics" ideology which was explicitly sanctioned by the Provinces Health Services until 1972.
As a result of the provinces actions, thousands of Indigenous women have been forcefully sterilized. As a result, Indigenous women have suffered physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and psychologically. Coerced sterilization has been destructive not only to their health, but to their family, relationships and culture. Indigenous women were deprived of fundamental choices guaranteed to all Canadians with respect to their reproductive capacity.
This was one of the many policies employed to undermine Aboriginal women, to separate Aboriginal peoples from the lands and resources, and to reduce the numbers of those whom the federal government has obligations
"No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"
- Margaret Sanger, sex educator
" I think I was used as a guinea pig. I really feel that's why I've had trouble with my health my whole life"
- Sharon Whonnock, spent almost a decade at Nanaimo Indian Hospital
Indian Hospitals
1945 - 1980's
The History of Indian Hospitals are not as well known as the history of residential schools, but serves just a horrific history and lasting impacts on the Indigenous community.
Segregated medical treatments were the norm. Whether treatment was given at a secluded, run down hospital, or in the "Indian annexes", patients at these hospitals were subjected to substandard care as well as medical and nutritional experiments.
The supporting idea behind 'Indian Hospitals' was to operate them cost effectively. This underlying principle led to the majority of staff being poorly trained health care workers. Doctors were not interested in working in such remote, isolated and poorly funded hospitals, when they could work in major centres. Another motivated factor was to ensure Europeans were protected from exposure to 'Indian Tuberculosis" - a disease that had a high symbiotic connection to residential schools that suffered overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of heat, which led to the spread of the highly transmissible tuberculosis virus.
This aspect of our history shows that care for the health of Indigenous peoples was never a priority or on par with the care available to European settlers.
The lingering impact of undergoing 'treatment' at an Indian hospital has resulted in many elderly Indigenous people having a deeply rooted fear and distrust for medical personnel.
Sixties Scoop
1950's - 1980's
This term refers to the practice in Canada where a mass amount Aboriginal Children were taken ("Scooped up") from their families and placed in foster homes or for adoption with non-Aboriginal homes. These foster and adoptive parents did not raise the children in accordance with the aboriginals person's customs, traditions and practices
As a result, theses "scooped" children have lost their identity as Aboriginal persons and suffered mentally, emotional, spiritually, and physically. Aboriginal communities describe the Sixties Scoop as destructive to their culture.
During this time period, the child welfare system did not require, or expect, social workers to have specific training in dealing with children from aboriginal communities. What they believed constituted proper care was generally based on middle-class Euro-Canadian values. Additionally, upon seeing the social problems reserve communities faced, such as poverty, unemployment, and addiction (all of which stem from lasting impacts of residential schools), some social workers felt a duty to protect the local children. In many cases, Aboriginal parents who were living in poverty but otherwise providing caring homes had their children taken from them with little or no warning and absolutely no consent.
These views resulted in an alarming amount of aboriginal children being apprehended and put into homes where their heritage was denied.
On December 1, 2018, Canada Provided a $50 million investment for the establishment of the Sixty Scoop Settlement. An independent, charitable foundation open to all Indigenous peoples to support healing wellness, education, language, culture and commemoration.
Old newspaper clippings advertise for the adoption of Indigenous children. Photo retrieved from: <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/ottawa-not-responsible-for-scoop-1.3874889>
"Going through the Scoop left me wondering which word or culture I belonged in: White Canadian or First Nations Community. I was torn between the two. It has had a very damaging effect on me"
- Rose Henry, Sixty Scoop Survivor
Drinking Water Advisories
1990's - Present
Everyone in Canada should have access to clean drinking water. However, Indigenous First Nations communities in Canada have been grappling with the issue of poor, dangerous water qualities for decades, impacting thousands of residents. As of January 25, 2022, there are currently 36 long-term water advisories in place, affecting 29 indigenous communities.
The poor water quality in these First Nations communities can be traced back centuries where Europeans settlers pushed indigenous communities into areas with inadequate water supply. The problem persists today due to poo infrastructure and lack of funding and water regulations on native reserves.
It is the federal governments responsibility to fix these problems, due to colonial-era laws that prohibit indigenous communities from managing their own water systems.
Although some progress has been made, dozens of communities still lack reliable access to clean water - a problem that they have been facing for decades. Residents of the Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario have lived without safe drinking water since 1995 The residents of Shoal Lake 40 only got clean water in September 2021, after spending 24 years under a drinking water advisory.
Canada has breached its obligations to First Nations and their members by failing to ensure that reserve communities have clean water and have been negligent in allowing these issues to persist for decades.
Indigenous-Crown Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett tries out one of the communal water stations during a visit to Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario on April 15, 2016, where she was told 80 per cent of homes do not have running water. (Sol Mamakwa/Twitter
"People are going thirsty without having access to water, and when you're in that situation, it's terrifying. I think what's really been affected is the mental health of so many. It's the sense of the government not caring about our people."
- Brennan McGuire; @slapppps on TikTok
Milllennial Scoop
1980's - Present
Today, Indigenous groups still face many of the effects of these historic forms of discrimination, as described above, have created lasting effects still felt by Indigenous communities today.
Indigenous Youth today are advocating against the continued chronic underfunding of First Nations Child and Family Services which has led to epidemic numbers of First Nations youth being removed from their homes and communities and placed into out-of-home care. This practice is known as the "Millennial Scoop".
This underfunding persists despite the heightened need for such services on Reserve due to inter-generational trauma inflicted on First Nations people by the legacy of Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop.
The government has also failed to abide by Jordan's Principle which has resulted in thousands of First Nations youth being denied necessary services which as the level of governments fight over who will cover the costs.
These continued denials of services and under funding is a display of systemic discrimination against First Nations children on the grounds of race and national or ethnic origins. This acts continue to result in Indigenous youth having their needed access to ancestral land, history, family, traditions and culture.
A dancer from the Toronto indigenous community embracing a child at a rally held in Toronto last year after a discovery of about 200 unmarked graves. CHRIS HELGREN/REUTERS
"The foster care system is working the way it's designed: as a machine to destroy Indigeneity"
- Jaye Simpson, 23-year-old university student, Vancouver, BC
Further Info and Class Actions
Under each category; click the icon for information on the class action, and the icon for further readings
Indian Day School
Federal Indian Day School Class Action
McLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation
Indian Residential School
Indian Residential School Class Action
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Forced Sterilization
Koskie Minksy LLP Class Action
Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Indigenous Women - Jennifer Leason
Sixties Scoop
Gov. of Canada Class Action Settlement
Sixties Scoop Settlement Website
Sixties Scoop Information
Drinking Water Advisories
Class Action Litigation on Drinking Water Advisories on First Nation Reserves
Water First - NGO
Gov of Canada - Ending Long Term Drinking Water Advisories
Millennial Scoop
Sotos Class Action
Sotos Class Action Criteria and Information
Indian Hospitals
Indian Hospitals Class Action - Koskie Minsky
A Brief Look at Indian Hospitals in Canada
RESOURCES
Hope for Wellness Helpline
The Hope for Wellness Help line offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous peoples across Canada
Tel: 1-855-242-3310